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NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- New Orleans faced two crises Wednesday that Louisiana's governor called nightmares: stopping rising floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and evacuating survivors of the deadly storm.

"We've got an engineering nightmare trying to fill the breach of the levee where the waters are pouring into the city," said Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco on Wednesday. "I think they've been working on it all night, and they'll continue to work on it all day today."

"Well, it's a logistical nightmare," Blanco said. "We have identified other shelters in other parts of the state. Communities are ready to receive these people to help them out."

"They've been running buses in through the night. We're going to get them out, either by boat, lift them out by helicopter, or if we can walk them to the buses, we'll do it. Whatever is necessary, whatever measure is necessary is what we'll do.:"

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said Wednesday that his complaints Tuesday about "way too many fricking ... cooks in the kitchen," were prompted by frustration. (Full story)

"I was expecting the levee to be plugged [Tuesday] with three-thousand pound sandbags. It didn't happen."

Nagin said command center officials would come together Wednesday to "start to work in synergy."

Engineers have been working to plug a 200-yard breach near the 17th Street Canal, allowing Lake Pontchartrain to spill into the central business district. (Map)

An earlier breach occurred along the Industrial Canal in the city's Lower 9th Ward.

National Guard troops moved into the downtown business district, and state police squads backed by SWAT teams were sent in to scatter looters and restore order, authorities said late Tuesday. (Full story)

Bush to tap oil reserve

Also Wednesday, in a move aimed at easing concerns about the disaster's effect on the nation's fuel supplies, Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the White House will tap the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Bodman said in an interview on CNN that officials have not determined the amount of crude oil that will be drawn from stockpiles, but that it would be a loan to refiners.

An official announcement was expected Wednesday afternoon, he said.

The impact of Katrina on U.S. oil production and refinery capabilities may be worse than initial reports estimated and could lead to a national gas crisis in the short-term, analysts warned Tuesday. (Full story)